Abe Sets Record For Longest Tenure In Office
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's current tenure in office reached 2,799 days on Monday, making him the country's longest consecutive serving prime minister.
The previous record was 2,798 days set by the late Sato Eisaku.
It was another milestone for Abe, who last year had already been Japan's longest-serving leader, counting the first Cabinet he formed that lasted one year from 2006. On Monday, both of Abe's terms amounted to 3,165 days.
Abe returned to the top post in December 2012 and formed his second Cabinet following a Lower House election.
Abe has given priority to reviving the Japanese economy and promoting a series of policies that came to be known as Abenomics, which were intended to avoid deflation.
After he took office, the Nikkei stock average recovered to well over the 20,000 point level.
Elsewhere, the ratio of job offers to applicants also improved.
But the Japanese economy has since taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic. With declining personal consumption, the country's Gross Domestic Product recorded its biggest contraction ever in the April-to-June quarter.
Abe's term as president of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party will expire at the end of September 2021.
His challenges include rebuilding the economy and hosting the re-scheduled Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics next year, while containing the spread of the coronavirus.
Abe is rumored to be in poor health, an issue seen as a personal challenge.
Attention is now focused on whether he will dissolve the Lower House, before the term of its members expire in October next year.
